Vocabulary 295-368 Flashcards
Repudiate(v)
To reject the validity of
-The woman’s claim that she was Russian royalty was repudiated by other known relatives
Repose(n)
Relaxation; leisure
-after working hard every day in the busy city, Mike finds his repose on weekends playing golf with friends
Requite(v)
To return or repay
-thanks for offering to lend me $1000, but I know I’ll never be able to requite your generosity
Restive(adj)
impatient, uneasy, or restless
-The passengers became restless after having to wait in line for hours and began to shout complaints
Reticent(adj)
Silent; reserved
-physically small verbally reticent, John often went unnoticed
Rhetoric(n)
Effective writing or speaking
-Lincolns talent for Rhetoric was evident in his beautifully expressed Gettysburg address
Ribald(adj)
Humorous in a vulgar way
-the courts jesters ribald brand of humor delighted the king
Sacrosanct(adj)
Extremely sacred; beyond criticism
-many people considered mother Theresa to be sacrosanct and would not tolerate any criticism of her
Sagacious(adj)
Shrewd;wise
-owls have a reputation for being sagacious, perhaps because of their big eyes
Salient(adj)
Prominent; of notable significance
-his most salient characteristic is his tendency to dominate every conversation
Salubrious(adj)
Healthful
-run-down and sickly, Rita hoped that the fresh mountain air would have a salubrious effect on her health
Sanguine(adj)
Ruddy; cheerfully optimistic
-a sanguine person thinks the glass is half full, whereas a depressed person thinks it’s half empty
Sardonic(adj)
Cynical; scornfully mocking
-Isabella was offended by the sardonic way in which her date made fun of her ideas and opinions
Satiate(v)
To satisfy fully or overindulge
-her desire for power was so great that nothing less than complete control of the country could satiate it
Scintilla(n)
Trace amount
-this poison is so powerful that no more than a scintilla of it is need to kill a horse
Sedition(n)
Behavior that promotes rebellion or civil disorder against the state
-Lu was arrested for sedition after he gave a fiery speech in the main square
Sentient(adj)
Aware; conscious; able to perceive
-the anesthetic didn’t work, and I was still sentient when the dentist drilled
Seraphic(adj)
Angelic; sweet
-Selena’s seraphic appearance belied her nasty, bitter personality
Sinecure(n)
A well-paying job or office that requires little or no work
-the corrupt mayor made sure to set-up all his relatives in sinecures within the administration
Slake(v)
To calm down or moderate
- in order to slake his curiosity; Bryan finally took a tour backstage
Sobriquet(n)
Nickname
-one of Ronald Reagan’s sobriquets was “the gipper”
Solecism(n)
Grammatical mistake
-“I ain’t going with you” she said, unaware of her solecism
Soporific(adj)
Causing sleep or lethargic
-the movie proved to be so soporific that soon loud snores were heard
Spartan(adj)
Highly self-disciplined; frugal; austere
-when he was in training, the athlete preferred to live in a spartan room, so he could shut out distractions
Specious(adj)
Deceptively attractive; seemingly plausible but fallacious
-The student specious excuse for being late sounded legitimate, but was proved otherwise when his teacher called his home
Sportive(adj)
Frolicsome; playful
- the lakeside vacation meant more sportive opportunities for the kids than the wine tour
Stasis(n)
A state of static balance or equilibrium; stagnation
-the rusty, ivy-covered World War II tank had obviously been in stasis for years
Stentorian(adj)
Extremely loud
-Colin couldn’t hear her speaking over the stentorian din of the game on TV
Stigma(n)
A mark of shame or discredit
-in the Scarlet letter, Hester Prine was required to wear a A on her clothes as a public stigma for her adultery
Stolid(adj)
Unemotional; lacking sensitivity
-The prisoners appeared stolid and unaffected by the judges harsh sentence
Stratagem(n)
Trick designed to deceive an enemy
-The Trojan horse must be one of the most successful military stratagems used in all of history
Paragon(n)
Model of excellence or perfection
-he is the paragon of what a judge should be: honest, intelligent, hard-working, and just
Pare(v)
To trim off excess; to reduce
-The cooks hands were sore after she pared hundreds of potatoes for the banquet
Pariah(n)
An outcast
-once he betrayed those in his community, he was banished and lived the life of a pariah
Parley(n)
Discussion, usually between enemy
-The parley between the rival cheerleading teams resulted in neither side admitting that they copied the others dance moves
Parry(v)
To ward of or deflect, especially by a quickwitted answer
-Carrie parried every question the army officer fired at her, much to their frustration
Pastiche(n)
A piece of literature or music imitating other works
-The playwrights clever pastiche of the well-known children’s story had the audience rolling in the isles
Pathogenic(adj)
Causing disease
-ben’s research on the origins of pathogenic microorganisms should help stop the spread of disease
Peccadillo(n)
A minor sin or offense
-Gabriel tends to harp on his brothers peccadilloes and never lets him live them down
Pedant(n)
Someone who shows off learning
-the graduate instructors tedious and excessive commentary on the subject soon gained her a reputation as a pedant
Pejorative(n)
Having bad connotations; disparaging
-the teacher scolded mark for his unduly pejorative comments about his classmates presentation
Penury(n)
An oppressive lack of resources(as money); severe poverty
-once a famous actor, he eventually died in penury and anonymity
Peregrinate(v)
To wander from place to place; to travel, especially on foot
-Shivaji enjoyed peregrinating the expansive grounds of Central Park
Perfidious(adj)
Willing to betray someone’s trust
-the actress’s perfidious companion revealed all of her intimate secrets to the gossip columnist
Perfunctory(adj)
Done in a routine way; indifferent
-the machine-like teller processed the transaction and gave the waiting customer a perfunctory smile
Peripatetic(adj)
Wandering from place to place, specially on foot
- Josh’s peripatetic meanderings took her all over the countryside
Permeate(v)
To penetrate
-this miraculous new cleaning fluid is able to permeate stains and dissolve them in minutes
Perspicacious(adj)
Shrewd, astute, or keen-witted
-the inspector used his perspicacious mind to solve the mysteries
Pervade(v)
To be present throughout; to permeate
-four spices pervade almost every Indian dish
Phalanx(n)
A compact or close-knit body of people, animals, or things
-a phalanx of guards stood outside the prime ministers home day and night
Philanthropy(n)
Charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness
-the MET owes much of its collection to the philanthropy of private donors
Philistine(n)
A person who is guided by materialism and is disdainful of intellectual air artistic values
-the philistine never even glanced at the rare violin in his collection but instead kept an eye on its value and sold it for profit
Phlegmatic(adj)
Clam and unemotional in temperament
-although the bomb could go off at any moment, the phlegmatic demolition expert remained calm
Pithy(adj)
Profound or substantial yet concise, succinct, to the point
-Martha’s pithy comments during the interview must have been impressive because she got the job
Placate(v)
To soothe or pacify
-The burglar tried to placate the snarling dog by referring it to it as a nice doggie and offering it a treat
Plastic(adj)
Able to be molded, altered, or bent
-The new material was very plastic and could be formed into products of vastly different shape
Plebeian(adj)
Crude or coarse; characteristic of commoners
-after five weeks of rigorous studying, the graduate settled in for weekend of plebeian socializing and television watching
Plethora(n)
Excess
-assuming that more was better, the defendant offered the judge a plethora of excuses
Plucky(adj)
Courageous; spunky
-The plucky young nurse dove into the foxhole, determined to help the wounded soldier
Polemic(n)
Controversy; argument; verbal attack
-The candidates bulimic against his opponent was vicious and small minded rather than convincing and well reasoned
Politic(adj)
shrewd and practical in managing or dealing with things; diplomatic
-she was wise to curve her tongue and was able to explain her problem to the judge in a respectful and politic manner
Polyglot(n)
A speaker of many languages
-lay’s extensive travels have helped her to become a true polyglot
Posit(v)
To assume as real or conceded; to propose as an explanation
-before providing the math formula, we need it to posit that X and Y were real numbers
Potentate(n)
A monarch or ruler with great power
-Alex was much kinder before he assumed the role of potentate
Pragmatic (adj)
Practical, as opposed to idealistic
-while idealistic gamblers think they can get rich by frequenting casinos, pragmatic gamblers realize that the odds are heavily stacked against them
Prattle (N)
Meaningless, foolish talk
-her husband’s mindless Pradel drove Josh insane; sometimes she wish he would just shut up
Precipitate (adj)
Thrown violently or brought about abruptly; lacking the deliberation
-their’s was precipitate marriage
Précis(n)
Short summary of facts
-Sarah wrote a précis of her thesis on the epic poem to share with her class
Prescient(adj)
Having foresight
-John’s decision to sell the apartment seemed to be a prescient one, as its value soon dropped by half
prevaricate(v)
To lie or deviate from the truth
-rather then admitting that he had overslept again, the employee prevaricated and claimed that heavy traffic had prevented him from arriving at work on time
Pristine(adj)
Fresh and clean; uncorrupted
-since concerted measures had been taken to prevent looting, the archaeological site was still pristine when researchers arrived
Rococo(adj)
Very highly ornamented; relating to an 18th century artistic style of elaborate ornamentation
-The ornate furniture in the house reminded Tatiana of the rococo style
Rustic (adj)
Rural
-rustic cabin was an ideal setting for vacation in the country
Sublime (adj)
Lofty or grand
-The music was so sublime that it transformed the rude surroundings into a special place
